A Chess Player’s Guide to Xiangqi | How to Play Chinese Chess

[@MisterCasket]

I bought a set in China when I was traveling there back in 2006. Locals on the street tried to teach me how to play it, they had so much fun seeing me fail😂. But in a friendly way. I recently found the board again, but forgot all the rules, so time to freshen up! 👍 I am however, looking for actual pieces, the disc writing is still difficult for me.

[@arielyoffie8847]

are the discs in chinese? just saw an awesome board that has the pieces as full figurines instead of tiles!

[@MisterCasket]

@@arielyoffie8847 yes they were! But I also bought actual figurines, way easier. I also build my own playfield.

[@englishpaulm]

The xiangqi.com has recently designed our own set. It will have traditional Chinese characters on one side of each piece, and "International" characters on the other side of each piece. We hope to have these for sale (at a low price) in September. I own dozens of xiangqi sets, and we have tried to make our new set the highest quality xiangqi set on the market.

[@MisterCasket]

This is the xiangqi board I made recently!
ua-cam.com/video/SiZTUiyewzM/v-deo.html

[@W_W232]

Hahaha,as a Chinese,I prefer like chess rather than Chinese Chess.In Chinese Chess,knight can't move in certain situation.

[@zedizdead]

Base on how you explained Xiangqi in this video, I'm confident I'd learn Chinese in a week if you did a video about that. 👏👏👏

[@neunundneunzigluftballons]

lol

[@XiangqiChineseChess]

Thanks!

[@matthewglenguir7204]

Lol 1 video that will take 5 years to remember

[@riza-2396]

Fun facts: the back ground story of this chess is based on XiangYu and LiuBang fighting after they worked together then defeated QinShihuangdi's evil son, and they end up fighting each other for the throne to rule over China, that's why the space with the two central horizontal lines are called Chu river Han, in reality it the canal between the Yellow river and Huai river, called 鸿沟 grand ditch. 鸿 have extended meaning of ''big'', because Chinese people call big wild goose 鸿. Now then people say 鸿沟 it have the extended meaning of ''huge difference''.
The red side is LiuBang, the black side is XiangYu, their cheese piece also have different names, the piece in equivalent of pawns are 兵 ''soldiers'' on the red side, but they are ''minions'' on black side. The ''cannon'' is 炮 pronounced ''pào, it actually means artillery, any kind of artillery, including catapult and trebuchet, at past people use 砲, 石stone 包 bao(just for pronunciation), at late medieval and Renaissance, people also use 砲 to say gun powder burning gas propelled cannon, at Modern era, people use 炮 instead of 砲 to say cannon, then people use 投石机 cast stone machine for catapult and trebuchet.
The 象 is elephant on black side, but it's 相 Prime Minister on red side.
The 将 general is on black side, it's Marshall帅 on red side.
The consultant is 士 on black side, it's originally the lowest level noble similar to knight, now used as gentleman to call any man, on red side it's 仕 official, people who work in government.

[@Quach7]

Fun fact: Indian chess is the ancestor of Chinese chess.
Another fun fact: Buddha is Indian and not Chinese, Grasshopper.

[@FreeAssange-yc4ws]

@@Quach7 yes, bhai. India is mother of all civilizations. Without India all humans today live in a primitive way. Jai Hind 🇮🇳💩💪🏾

[@captainamonniga3689]

@@Quach7 common sense

[@user-oh4qo3hk4b]

​@@Quach7 😅

[@香香鸡]

@@Quach7 中国象棋不是来源于波斯吗？顶多借鉴了一下印度象棋里的象，你怎么不说印度人是你祖宗呢？

[@danilopablo9848]

I learned a lot within only a few days
I've beaten both the level 1 and 2 engines and even won 2 games against a real person, one of the games were ranked!
I'm really having fun with this game.

[@XiangqiChineseChess]

Glad to hear that!

[@kishascape]

Impressive. Meow is a formidable opponent. 🐱

[@quach8quach907]

The pawn formation in Western chess is phalanx.
The pawn formation in Chinese chess is maniple.

[@claudiosolomon1324]

Yess! Both games come from a game born in India and they adapted it to their cultures! The chinese version is actually closer to the original and it is closer to a maniple. It is more dynamic and creative and lets you do more "things". The european version is a mix of cultures between the arab world and the europeans and it is closer to a phalanx in wich movement is more restricted (more pieces for a smaller board) and the game at his best becomes a positional play

[@francismatthews3059]

Love this video! I'm gonna show this to my granddaughter, she's a real chess whiz!

[@gabri9728]

Very clear explanation. I’m a former chess player (1700FIDE) and a Go player. One day I will also try this seemingly beautiful game.

[@XiangqiChineseChess]

Go for it!

[@d1ngl3]

A king can directly eat a king when it’s in a straight line

[@DieFlabbergast]

We don't translate 吃 as "eat" in English: the word is "take" (or "capture"). And, no, a general cannot take the other general, for the simple reason that you are not allowed to make the two generals face each other. Perhaps in "bullet/blitz" time controls, you might be allowed to take the opposing general; otherwise, the player has to retract his move.

[@quach8quach907]

The Advisor is analogous to the Vizier (Queen) in the common ancestor Indian chess. The Vizier moves 1 square diagonally.

[@DieFlabbergast]

As it still does in Thai chess (makruk) and Cambodian chess (ouk chatrang), which are almost the same game and are descended directly from the original Indian game of chaturanga.

[@Quach7]

@@DieFlabbergast The more you know . . .

[@erstwhilerambler]

I just received my sets yesterday-one from you guys (very nice, by the way) and one more traditional wooden set. I lived in 中国 for over a decade and learned 象棋 a bit. Now, I’m teaching a Chinese language, history, and culture course and plan to introduce the game to my students later today. This video will help, so thanks!

[@XiangqiChineseChess]

That's awesome! Hope your students will enjoy xiangqi :)

[@mariebcfhs9491]

My favorite piece in xiangqi is the cannon because it is the only piece that can double check (with a chariot as the cannon mount, which I called the towed artillery check) and subsequent fork. Or deliver a double cannon mate.

[@wawakong]

me too,in the book there is stratgy called 连环炮 means Chain Canon. two canon in a line facing oppnent general. its a way of checkmate

[@Gengarguy-dx1kz]

@@wawakongtwo cannons facing the general is called 重炮

[@jesuslovesyoujohn314-21]

Thank you for the guide on how to play!

[@camoraz]

I instantly subbed after watching this video. Keep up guys!!!

[@camoraz]

@@ElizabethMusicHub Thanks a lot!!! It is a really useful channel, thank you very much!

[@willetwilliams5]

Also love how high level theory is being played in the chess examples :0

[@DieFlabbergast]

ALL opening theory is high-level theory. If it's an opening from a game between beginners or weak players, it's NOT "theory." What would you expect them to use in the video?

[@Jxu82795]

Beautiful vid!

[@user-xy6mx1oj4h]

Why in the website the puzzles are not like in classical chess platforms? You simply can't play and try if you are wrong. Instead you write down your answer(on a paper or notebook) and then check if you are right. So old...

[@englishpaulm]

Puzzles V2 is coming soon

[@EventUniverse]

Thanks for the video, now i know how to play chinese chess properly

[@XiangqiChineseChess]

Glad to hear that!

[@floris737]

Nice video. Can you also do one on strategies and tactics in xiangqi?

[@arielyoffie8847]

hope those are helpful 🙂

[@Quach7]

There are things called "books". Try some.

[@nico-wj1mh]

@@Quach7 wow bro u got em good nice work bravo

[@quach8quach907]

Radial symmetry existed in the original Chaturanga.
Mirror symmetry is in Shatranj, a descendant of Chaturanga.

[@quach8quach907]

@DieFlabbergast
Thanks. I looked up Thai and Burmese chess.
The advancement of the infantry in Chinese chess is an evolution from Chaturanga.
Thai chess, 1 step advancement.
Burmese chess 1.5 steps advancement.
Chinese chess, 2 steps advancement.

[@cotuongnhathoa]

Thanks for sharing the way of playing Xiangqi.

[@XiangqiChineseChess]

You are wlecome! Hope you enjoy the content!

[@abdullahzafar6215]

Amazing!

[@GameInterest]

Thanks, this is awesome.

[@Elphoya]

Question:
Can the cannon ALWAYS jump over another piece or ONLY when capturing an enemy piece?
For example can I jump over another piece with my cannon and land on an empty field?

[@englishpaulm]

No, the cannon can only jump to land on a victim.

[@pawstorm988]

No, the cannon can only jump on the enemy piece and capture it

[@DieFlabbergast]

No; only when capturing. Otherwise, it moves like a rook (chariot).

[@vvizion2015]

Its only when capturing an enemy piece

[@wawakong]

lol,in that way canon will be 无敌😂

[@ivanchung-kd9nu]

Thank you very much😊

[@Lee_xP]

oh,well “相” or “象” is means military advisor--“军师/军事顾问”, not elephant--“大象”

[@quach8quach907]

象 is a glyph of an elephant. 4 legs, a tail, 2 big ears, and a trunk.
Bishop = Elephant
Queen = Vizier
Rook = Chariots.
What you are saying is that the "Bishop" is not the Elephant. The Bishop is the Elephant.

[@Lee_xP]

@@quach8quach907 oh，lol，thx😂

[@lukeemma286]

是的

[@jack19677]

@@Lee_xP 相是宰相。不是大象🐘

[@okamisansempai557]

Really amaizing

[@MrEatingChickens]

Zooweemama what a good video

[@VictorHernandez-nj2lo]

Thank you,this video helps

[@pierremetral6121]

Thanks you very much !

[@volkerwob3429]

Very good explained. Thank you.

[@XiangqiChineseChess]

Glad it was helpful!

[@quach8quach907]

5:11 Correct. The Elephant is where the game gets its name.
象 Elephant
象棋 Elephant Game.
So why the hell is this website and channel use the Minister 相 glyph?
By the way, the Elephant moves 2 squares diagonally in Chaturanga.

[@anghai572]

one more rule of the Elephant is that when there are pieces blocking diagonally in between the Elephant and the destination , the Elephant cannot move to that destination

[@XiangqiChineseChess]

Thanks for your remark!

[@quach8quach907]

5:11 Correct. The Elephant is where the game gets its name.
象 Elephant
象棋 Elephant Game.
3:15 Correct again. The General is the most important piece in the game.
将 General.
Why isn't Chinese chess named like Japanese chess?
将棋 Sho-gi, the game fo the Sho-gun. 将軍. The Game of the General.
Why 象棋 Elephant Game?
Because it came from India, that is why.

[@gp10020]

Always nice to have something explained by a smart person in a logical way. (Must be Chinese, eh bro?)

[@armaanpro2578]

Explained very clearly 😁😁😁😁

[@kockzonglee9927]

fantastic

[@yenlam2607]

I'm vietnam and my idea chariot 10,cannon 7,horse 3

[@user-xl9yy5cg5h]

Everyone gangstas until the opponent capture the knight on the first move to confuse you

[@quach8quach907]

Pawn promotion is an innovation of Western chess from Chaturanga which has no pawn promotion.
Chinese chess is really closer to Chaturanga than Western chess.

[@nikolozparulava3169]

I dont have a board but i wonder if i can make one.
Im gonna make an elephant game using felt and yarn

[@XiangqiChineseChess]

You can purchase our board and pieces here: www.amazon.com/Xiangqi-Portable-Chinese-15-inch-Carrying/dp/B09L1K3SK3/ref=sr_1_31?crid=1REBEIV62HGDP&keywords=xiangqi%20set%20xiangqi.com&qid=1647703017&sprefix=xiangqi%20set%20xiangqi.co%2Caps%2C50&sr=8-31&pldnSite=1

[@quach8quach907]

When I was 9 years old in Vietnam, I made my Chinese Chess set with discarded bottle caps and a brown paper bag.

[@quach8quach907]

Google this UA-cam video title.
4.1 Making our own Chess Game from Bottle Tops
All you need is bottle caps, paper, and Elmer's glue.

[@VietnameseJokerTheZero]

WHY ARE YOI* DIFFERENT NOW IDIOT (I MEAN THAT Q GUY) I THOUGHT YOU WANTED A BETTER SET IN ANOTHER REPILU*

[@JermirCaesar]

Great video, but the red elephant pieces on the bottom left from 4:40 onwards are in the wrong columns.

[@kittyn5222]

I have my own version of chess
I call it freedom chess since you have more freedom except for 3 things but these are just to make it more fun and harder
It's a a much bigger 10x15 it's cuz it's the most I could fit on the paper I'm using as a board

[@rexoverwatch]

good

[@XiangqiChineseChess]

Thanks!

[@koboldmartian4063]

That set featured at the end of the video at 5:24 is super nice! where can I get it?

[@XiangqiChineseChess]

That set is currently unavailable. However, you could get the set with graphical pieces published by Xiangqi.com via Amazon: www.amazon.com/Xiangqi-Portable-Chinese-15-inch-Carrying/dp/B09L1K3SK3

[@quach8quach907]

The set sucks.
It doesn't have the correct glyphs, as it is in this video.
傌 instead of 馬.
俥 instead of 車.
砲 instead of 炮.
They can't even learn from their own video!
And the Western chariot should be a wheel.

[@quach8quach907]

@@XiangqiChineseChess Make it the way I tell you, then I'll buy it.

[@VietnameseJokerTheZero]

THAT’S CUZ THE LETTERS ARE DIFFERENT DEPENDING ON WHICH COLOR YOU ARE AND IT’S CHINESE CHESS NOT WESTERN SHE CAN MAKE THE SYMBOL WHATEVER SHE WANTS. YOU DONT FORCE PEOPLE NOBODY DID ANTTHING* TO YOU. I* REPORT* (FOR THE WRONG REASON CUZ MY IPAD IS VIEYNAM* AND YOU* DONT* KNOW VETNAMEMESE* WELL)

[@fireball-brawlstar8380]

Thank you for helping me , I can now defeat my grandma XD

[@webuser2014]

Nice, easy to understand :D

[@user-hz6dj2vb5h]

加油!

[@rickelvi]

Xiangqi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

[@mrchoon2010]

I live in Vietnam, and "cờ tướng" is everywhere. I wanna learn, but there's just too many differences to Cờ Vua (King chess)
I'll give it a miss, haha

[@DieFlabbergast]

Haha to you. You're missing out on a magnificent, elegant game with a very long history.

[@mrchoon2010]

@@DieFlabbergast I'm sure I am. Go is another game that I'm missing out on. And there are many more

[@Quach7]

Chinese Chess and Western Chess are like siblings of the common ancestor Indian chess.
You can't have one without the other.

[@Quach7]

Is it
cờ tướng = Shogi = 将棋 = the game of the Shogun (General)
or
cờ tượng = 象棋 = Chinese Chess = Elephant Chess?

[@mrchoon2010]

@@Quach7 a quick google will show you that cờ tướng í Chinese chess. I've been living here talking about this with locals for 5 years now, and not one person has ever mentioned cờ tượng. I haven't heard it once

[@user-vo7le6ht4t]

“Orthogonally” is an actual word. 😳

[@DieFlabbergast]

So is "diagonally": don't worry, you'll graduate from kindergarten soon.

[@Quach7]

Ortho-dox = straight teaching.

[@greatmusic142]

@@DieFlabbergast theres no need to criticize someones vocabulary capability, what if i start judging u on chinese vocab?

[@pogrgaemrvngpf8716]

As a Vietnamese, i know How to play Xiangqi

[@stevenliang3213]

Ok? Is that a flex?

[@pogrgaemrvngpf8716]

@@stevenliang3213 no?

[@masterkoi29]

Xangqi have a history of over 1000 yrs. So don't think that xiangqi comes from any western board games as this game was used by militaries during the chu-han war.

[@DieFlabbergast]

Learn the history of chess. The first chess game (chaturanga) was invented in India some time before the fifth century. Thai chess (makruk) and Cambodian chess (ouk chratrang) are directly descended from chaturanga. When chaturanga moved in a western direction, its name changed to shatranj in Persia (Iran) and the Arab countries. From there it travelled both west, to Europe, and east, via the Silk Road to China. No chess-type game was in existence in the days of the Chu-Han conflict. Xiangqi appeared in China no earlier than the seventh century.

[@quach8quach907]

Buddha likes curry not monosodium glutamate.

[@quach8quach907]

I'm 54 years old. In Vietnam I've seen Chinese chess sets without the Chu-Han theme. That is a recent invention.
In the back of my mind, the River is the Yellow River.
And I've seen Red and Blue pieces, not Red and Black like Checkers, Backgammon, Cards, Roulette (Always bet on Black - Wesley Snipes).
Red and Blue like Yin and Yang of the South Korean flag, which should have been the Chinese flag.

[@chesstraps]

👌👌👌👌

[@razorduncan8246]

We do not consider the elephant as an elephant, but generally as a prime minister.

[@razorduncan8246]

And in ancient China there's often two or more prime minister, one called the left prime minister, the other called the right prime minister.

[@quach8quach907]

We don't call the Elephant the Elephant in Western chess, we call it the Bishop. But originally it is the Elephant.

[@AsadAli-jc5tg]

This variant predates any other Covid variants and the players must be patients 😂

[@user-ud2xs2rh7c]

哈哈哈

[@xiayang3727]

It’s elephant game

[@DeveloperMan_]

i learned alot about chinese culture from a board game 🤣🤣

[@eprjct]

It's interesting that although rook works identically within chess and Xiangqi. Due to the nature of the board, it becomes way stronger when compared to chess. One reason is because there is no queen, so it's the strongest piece on the board. Another reason is because there is less pond. Although they both start in the corner, it's way more easier for the rook to pressure in Xiangqi.

[@kaixiangyuan5527]

There is a saying "A chariot makes ten pieces shaken" in xiangqi, indicating the strong power of the piece.

[@XiangqiChineseChess]

Because the Xiangqi board is more opened

[@DiamondDragonStudio]

@@XiangqiChineseChess I wonder what happens if xiangqi has a queen

[@quach8quach907]

@@DiamondDragonStudio That's called Western chess.

[@user-hz6dj2vb5h]

资瓷

[@jeffreylitianjun7314]

No coronation in chess Chinois and no cannon in chess

[@jeffreylitianjun7314]

Can someone add coronation to chess Chinois and cannon to chess? D be much cooler

[@kalv7444]

@@jeffreylitianjun7314 ain’t that racist

[@Quach7]

@@jeffreylitianjun7314 Both games have different rules, opposite almost. Play both. I invent a concept that there is a tri-athlon of chess. 1 game of Chinese chess, 1 game of Western Chess, 1 game of Backgammon. 2/3 is the winner.

[@Quach7]

@@jeffreylitianjun7314 You cannot wily nilly combine the 2 descendants of Indian chess into One.

[@theamazinghippopotomonstro9942]

@Quach7 I have a similar concept for 1 game of Western chess, 1 game of Chinese chess and 1 game of Japanese chess

[@PonyJarCollector]

squig game

[@BinnyBongBaron_AoE]

Is this the exact guide as the other, but with a female narrator?

[@primodesmile634]

Advisor is so useless

[@izzy5622]

bruh sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh

[@chinchang5117]

Can u just say chinese chess and stop your irritating pronunciation of Xiangqi???

[@eicko1]